Dragonsteel Prime. Spoilers?

[CoderDrag0n8 He/They]

I have been snooping around the Cosmere area, and found that Dragonsteel Prime is a thing that exists. What I want to know is, if I were to read it, could it possibly have spoilers for future series?

[The Bookwyrm he/him]

I read it, and I don't think so. I think Brandon does plan to use elements of it when he writes the canon Dragonsteel, so I guess if you wanted to go in completely blind it would be best not to read it, but from what I could tell it didn't seem like it had any huge spoilerific implications for the Cosmere.

[Treamayne]

15 hours ago, CoderDrag0n8 said:

I have been snooping around the Cosmere area, and found that Dragonsteel Prime is a thing that exists. What I want to know is, if I were to read it, could it possibly have spoilers for future series?

Spoilers from DSPrime will depend on how much Cosmere you have read. If you have read everything through Secret Projects/RoW (when it dropped) then you should be fine. WoBs (note the years on those Q&As):

Spoiler

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Chris King

Are there any eventual plans for release of things such as-- things like Way of Kings Prime or the old version of Dragonsteel after the new version is released?

Brandon Sanderson

Once there are no more spoilers in those books I'll do what I have done with things like White Sand and whatnot, that if people write me— Mistborn Prime is a good example. There's no real spoilers in Mistborn Prime if you've read the trilogy. It's not a very good book but you can read it and kind of understand the history of where the story came from. So I'll do the same thing with these books.

Chris King interview (Sept. 24, 2013)

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Questioner

Does Dragonsteel Prime spoil any future Cosmere novels?

Brandon Sanderson

There will be echoes of a few things in Dragonsteel Prime that end up in actual Dragonsteel, but only echoes. There'll be very, very slight spoilers, if anything. The big spoilers in that were for some things in Stormlight that you can piece together yourself.

Words of Radiance Backerkit Countdown (March 28, 2024)

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Brandon Sanderson

I'm going to release [Dragonsteel Prime] digitally (likely for free) eventually. The thing is, I don't think the book is very good--so I kind of don't want people reading it. And beyond that, there are a few things in it that are cosmere spoilers--AND more than a few things that are no longer relevant to the cosmere.

I realize it's a curiosity, however, to cosmere fans. I just don't feel it's equal in writing skill to my two other unpublished books from that era (White Sand and Aether of Night) despite them also having their problems.

I haven't been able to bring myself to say, "All right, here you all go. Read it" because in some ways, it's way more personal for me than the other weak stories from my unpublished days, because it represents me trying very hard (and failing) to boot up the cosmere, so it's extra cringeworthy for me in that regard.

lexarbraums

This just made my night, so thank you! That being said, I feel like you have the kind of fan devotion that would allow for a type of “podcast paywall” or “YouTube patreon” situation where those that would want to learn more could be offered some additional information (like Dragonsteel) without having to make the trip to BYU.

I know I would! And I know I would understand that I’m paying for the right to see a rough draft.

Brandon Sanderson

I understand this. I think I'm going to experiment with offering Way of Kings prime first, as that one's not quite as bad. I will say this: eventually, I'll release Dragonsteel. I think it's inevitable that I'll bend and give it to the fans, so you don't need to make the trip, so long as you're okay waiting a few years.

Phantine

Maybe also drop Mistborn Prime/Final Empire Prime the next couple times there's a gap in your publication schedule?

They're technically accessible through email, but having them on the website would make things easier to discuss, and it seems like an easy way to throw a little red meat at the fanbase without putting in too much effort (and you could stretch it out by just putting up 1 or 2 chapters a day).

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, there is enough serious fan and academic interest in my roots as a writer, that I should probably do this, as you suggest. Let me find the right way to do it.

VioletSoda

Maybe you could release a digital anthology of all the Prime/Unpublished works?

Brandon Sanderson

I'll consider the right way to do this--but either way, I will start trying to get them out to people.

General Reddit 2019 (Oct. 6, 2019)

 

So, DSPrime was finally released because the most important spoilers it contained have been incorporated or removed - leaving the rest as non-Canon "echoes."

Feel free to make a thread in the correct section if you want more concrete information or have further questions on non-Canon material.

Edited January 28, 2025 by Treamayne
SPAG/WoB

[ShatteredDiamond She/Her]

Not really a lot of spoilers I can think of.

There are a lot of things Brandon ended up reusing from it, so that's fun to see. I just reread dragonsteel prime a few days ago and I really enjoyed it.